Japanese tatami mats can dictate a home's entire layout

While modern floor plans are often designed around square footage or furniture placement, some architectural traditions use a single floor covering to dictate the entire geometry of a home. Ryukyu tatami mats, a square variation of the traditional Japanese woven grass flooring, function as a rigid modular system. Because the mats come in standardized sizes, every other element of the room, from the door placements to the depth of the cabinetry, must align with the grid they create.